1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a stabilizer control apparatus for a vehicle, and more particularly to an apparatus for controlling a torsional rigidity of a stabilizer disposed between a right wheel and a left wheel, by means of an electrically operated actuator.
2. Description of the Related Arts
In general, a stabilizer control apparatus for a vehicle is provided for applying an appropriate roll moment to a vehicle by means of a stabilizer while the vehicle is performing a turning operation, to reduce or restrict rolling motion of the vehicle body. For example, in the U.S. Pat. No. 6,425,585 (corresponding to International Publication No. WO9967100, and Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No. 2002-518245), there is disclosed a system for stabilizing vehicles against rolling, with at least one slewing drive arranged between halves of the front and/or rear chassis stabilizer, thus creating an initial stress of the stabilizer halves to reduce or suppress the rolling motion and, in the event of roll, applying a counter-torque to the vehicle body as a function of output signals of a sensor for detecting a roll parameter. It is described that the object is to make possible a purely electromechanical system design for roll stabilization that will yield a reduction in the required power in steady-state or quasi-steady state driving maneuvers, and the system is characterized in that the slewing drive has an arrangement for locking swiveling of the stabilizer halves with respect to one another.
However, such locking arrangement will require a space within the slewing drive apparatus, to result in being enlarged in its longitudinal length, so that it will be difficult to mount it on the vehicle.